Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate generally to viewing program material, and more particularly to previewing program material using a preview trick mode.
Background Art
Program material including an audio or video source can be experienced on a variety of devices, including video cassette recorder (VCR) devices, digital video recorder (DVR) devices, digital video disc (DVD) devices, computer-implemented video and audio playback devices, and other set top box devices. A set top box, or STB, can be deployed at a user's household to provide the user with the ability to control delivery of video programming distributed from a provider. The user can issue control commands to control playback of the program material.
A trick mode (e.g., fast forward or rewind) can be used to scan program material. A user can use a trick mode to scan through program material at an increased rate, and, for example, terminate the trick mode to resume normal playback. However, human reaction times associated with user interaction can cause users to overshoot the point at which they wish to stop fast forwarding or rewinding, and resume normal playback at an unintended point in the program material. As a result, the user may often need to manually adjust the current position within the program material after completing the trick play mode. For example, after terminating fast forward mode, the user may need to rewind slightly, in order to adjust for overshooting and reach the intended position.
Conventional systems to address overshooting can involve calculating an overshoot correction to be applied after trick mode is terminated. Application of the overshoot correction in the case of fast forward can involve subtracting a calculated positional offset from the termination point after the trick mode. In the case of rewind, application of the overshoot correction can involve adding a calculated positional offset from the termination point.
However, user sensitivity to variations or delays can be increased in association with terminating a trick mode, because the user can be actively seeking a specific point in the program material. Accordingly, an overall user experience can be degraded for users of conventional systems having delays associated with calculating an overshoot correction after termination of trick modes.
What is needed is an arrangement that enables significant flexibility and accuracy associated with viewing data, including a system to automatically address overshoot associated with terminating trick play modes. Furthermore, what is needed is an arrangement that enables a high degree of control and specificity, while minimizing impact to user experience upon terminating trick modes.
The present embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements.